Iowa's Kirk Ferentz Makes History with Nebraska Win

The Iowa Hawkeyes' regular season-ending win on the road over the Nebraska Cornhuskers represents a two-game winning streak for a team that, after losing two straight to ranked opponents and losing hope for any special postseason aspirations, desperately needed a heap of positive momentum to bank the end of their year on.

A Textbook Road Win

While the Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes entered the late-season matchup with the same overall record (7-4), Nebraska entered the duel at a clear disadvantage given the season-ending injury suffered by their quarterback, and leading playmaker, Dylan Raiola. What ensued was not only a telling suggestion of his importance to their opponent, but a testament to what Iowa is capable of in spite of their recent struggles.

On both sides of the ball, the Hawkeyes took the Cornhuskers to task in front of their home crowd. Not only was Nebraska the only team of the two to turn the ball over (a lost fumble), but Iowa outgained the red and white overall, 379 yards to 300. With four scores on the ground alone - compared to Nebraska mustering just 16 points of their own in total - Iowa's 40-point tally and eighth win set a dominant tone for the team entering bowl season. Not only that, but it put head coach Kirk Ferentz in elite historic company.

Iowa has now won eight (8) games in EVERY full season since 2015.

That’s 10 straight FULL years of 8+ wins for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa is one (1) of just four (4) FBS programs with 8+ wins in the last 10 FULL yrs:

• Alabama
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Ohio St

Remarkable success. pic.twitter.com/UutkSupGe5
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) November 28, 2025

Historic Head Coach

With his team's final victory of the regular season, Ferentz has now officially led Iowa's football program to at least eight wins in every full season since 2015. As Ben Stevens of College Football Today pointed out on X (Twitter) following the game, Iowa is just one of four programs in the entire FBS to meet such a metric in the last decade.

The other three? Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. To say that Ferentz is in elite company wouldn't do his latest achievement remote justice.

While it's more than fair for fans to find frustration in the team's extremely recent dropoff - having just made the B1G Championship two seasons ago - to strip the black and gold HC of his nationally rare consistency would be doing an injustice for what Ferentz has given to the program in his almost three decades at the helm.

To be in chase of championship-level seasons is one thing, but to have to want for wins in general is entirely another. At the very least, the Iowa Hawkeyes are consistently good. Given their recent proximity to that aforementioned conference championship appearance, that's good enough for now.

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